Bayesian estimation of fossil phylogenies and the evolution of early to middle Paleozoic crinoids (Echinodermata)

Abstract

AbstractKnowledge of phylogenetic relationships among species is fundamental to understanding basic patterns in evolution and underpins nearly all research programs in biology and paleontology. However, most methods of phylogenetic inference typically used by paleontologists do not accommodate the idiosyncrasies of fossil data and therefore do not take full advantage of the information provided by the fossil record. The advent of Bayesian ‘tip-dating’ approaches to phylogeny estimation is especially promising for paleosystematists because time-stamped comparative data can be combined with probabilistic models tailored to accommodate the study of fossil taxa. Under a Bayesian framework, the recently developed fossilized birth–death (FBD) process provides a more realistic tree prior model for paleontological data that accounts for macroevolutionary dynamics, preservation, and sampling when inferring phylogenetic trees containing fossils. In addition, the FBD tree prior allows for the possibility of sampling ancestral morphotaxa. Although paleontologists are increasingly embracing probabilistic phylogenetic methods, these recent developments have not previously been applied to the deep-time invertebrate fossil record. Here, I examine phylogenetic relationships among Ordovician through Devonian crinoids using a Bayesian tip-dating approach. Results support several clades recognized in previous analyses sampling only Ordovician taxa, but also reveal instances where phylogenetic affinities are more complex and extensive revisions are necessary, particularly among the Cladida. The name Porocrinoidea is proposed for a well-supported clade of Ordovician ‘cyathocrine’ cladids and hybocrinids. The Eucladida is proposed as a clade name for the sister group of the Flexibilia herein comprised of cladids variously considered ‘cyathocrines,’ ‘dendrocrines,’ and/or ‘poteriocrines’ by other authors.